Most people will admit that they are looking for an amazing love story. We’ve all seen those couples, the ones holding hands or whispering to each other as they stare into one another’s eyes as if they share an awesome secret. We watch them and wonder, what’s up with those two?

We never anticipated becoming one of “those couples.” When we met, we just worked on listening to God and preparing ourselves for the story he planned for us. What we learned and want to share is that no matter what your relationship status may be, this amazing story begins with you.

In this book we share more than the events happening around “The Surprise Wedding.” We share our triumphs and our mistakes, both before and after that day. You’ll learn healthy habits you can start practicing today, ones that will help you lay the groundwork for an incredible marriage later. God has something amazing in mind for you, but he can’t get you there without your help.

“After four years of hiding my faith from my family, I knew that it was time. I wrote with shaky hands, ‘Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior. I refuse to deny him….’ There was no turning back now. I had to get out of that house if I wanted to live. Was this worth risking everything for? Yes.”

Rifqa Bary grew up in a devout Muslim home, obediently following her parents’ orders to practice the rituals of Islam. But God was calling her to freedom and love. He was calling her to true faith. He was calling her to give up everything.

Leaving Islam for Christianity cost her more than she imagined

but gave more than she could have dreamed.

Hiding in the Light is the story of Rifqa’s remarkable spiritual journey from Islam to Christianity. It is also the untold story of how she ran from her father’s threats to find refuge with strangers in Florida, only to face a controversial court case that reached national headlines. Most of all, it is the story of a young girl who made life-changing sacrifices to follow Jesus—and who inspires us to do the same.

Food writer-turned-restaurateur Juliette D’Alisa has more than enough on her plate. While her trip to Provence might have unlocked new answers to her grandmother’s past, it’s also provided new complications in the form of Neil McLaren, the man she can’t give up.

Juliette and Neil find romance simple as they travel through Provence and Tuscany together, but life back home presents a different set of challenges. Juliette has a restaurant to open, a mother combating serious illness, and a family legacy of secrets to untangle – how does Neil, living so far away in Memphis, fit into to her life?

As she confronts an uncertain future, Juliette can’t help but wish that life could be as straightforward as her chocolate chip cookie recipe. Can her French grandmother’s letters from the 1940’s provide wisdom to guide her present? Or will every new insight create a fresh batch of mysteries?

If you and I are new to each other, let me start here: This is not how this was supposed to go! In the portrait I had long ago painted of my family, I didn’t intend to include words like “widowed single mom.” I had envisioned many more decades with my husband Robb in the complicated, beautiful life of marriage. But in the course of twelve hours, our family of four became a trio, and since that day my boys and I have been creating a new life in an upside-down world.

I have written this new book, which in a lot of ways is a sequel to And Life Comes Back, to answer the question so many have asked: “And then what happened—after the crisis became reality and your life began again?” I’ve leaned into honest storytelling to offer a look into the chaos and beauty of who we have become.

I’ll be honest, this book was harder to write because I’m living it right now—I hardly feel like an expert who has figured it out. I hope my straight-up-honest stories will give you encouragement to take the next step. And the next. And the next.

Sometimes, you just have to pretend you know what you’re doing, pretend you’re brave enough, and pretend you can do this. Sometimes you just have to pretend you’re normal until the new normal finds you.

The 1757 New York frontier is home to the Oneida tribe and to British colonists, yet their feet rarely walk the same paths.

On the day Fort William Henry falls, Major Reginald Aubrey is beside himself with grief. His son, born that day, has died in the arms of his sleeping wife. When Reginald comes across an Oneida mother with newborn twins, one white, one brown, he makes a choice that will haunt the lives of all involved. He steals the white baby and leaves his own child behind. Reginald’s wife and foundling daughter, Anna, never suspect the truth about the boy they call William, but Reginald is wracked by regret that only intensifies with time, as his secret spreads its devastating ripples.

When the long buried truth comes to light, can an unlikely friendship forged at the wood’s edge provide a way forward? For a father tormented by fear of judgment, another by lust for vengeance. For a mother still grieving her lost child. For a brother who feels his twin’s absence, another unaware of his twin’s existence. And for Anna, who loves them both—Two Hawks, the mysterious Oneida boy she meets in secret, and William, her brother. As paths long divided collide, how will God direct the feet of those who follow Him?

“Stephan Bauman helps us understand that if we want to steward our moment in history, we must turn our thinking upside-down—first to recognize the resilience and creativity of those who suffer, then to thank God for the privilege of coming alongside them as co-creators of the solutions. I love this book!”

— Lynne Hybels, Willow Creek Community Church

We need a better vision for saving the world.

Across the world, people like you are rising up to fight poverty, oppression, and injustice—not just professionals, but bloggers, musicians, entrepreneurs, artists, homemakers, and advocates. People who refuse to accept the world as it is, who dare to believe change is possible.

But we face a crisis of vision. We sense what needs to be done, but often we don’t know how to do it. Without a better blueprint for doing good well, our moment in history will slip away.

Stephan Bauman, president of a leading charity believes true change begins in the hearts and actions of ordinary people. In Possible, he presents clear and biblical thinking, powerful stories, and practical tools for sustainably impacting our workplaces, neighborhoods, villages, and cities.

Possible is an eloquent and personal call to reconsider what it means to change ourselves so that we can change the world.

Though I don’t know where your fears started or how deep they sit in your soul, I do know this: Fear is a heavy burden. One of the heaviest you can carry. It’s exhausting and overwhelming. And it’s not from God.

—Susie Davis, Unafraid

In 1978 Susie Davis watched as a thirteen-year-old classmate entered her classroom and killed her teacher. As a witness to one of the earliest school shootings in our nation, Susie faced years of paralyzing fear and an intense distrust of God. But God relentlessly pursued her and, over time, broke Susie’s fear addiction.

In Unafraid, Susie offers her hard-won insights about how we can trust God in the midst of our fears about violence, disease, and personal tragedy. With you, she asks, “How do we live unafraid? How do we remain aware of world events without giving in to fear? How do we make everyday choices to stop letting ‘What if?’ control us?”

As Susie shows us, it is possible to break fear’s grasp on our lives. We can be aware of the terrible without forgetting the beautiful. We can look up with joy and realize the remarkable truth: Jesus wants to take our fear and give us, in its place, true peace. Walk this liberating journey with her and learn what it means to live unafraid.

Being a mom usually means being busy. Really busy. Whether you’re zipping from your children’s piano lessons to their next ballgame or nursing a baby while comforting a toddler, life is brimming with activities. Yet one encounter can help shape every moment: time in the Word with Jesus. In Walking with God in the Season of Motherhood, you’ll learn how to nourish your own heart, mind, and soul with the wisdom you need to become the mother you long to be.

As you spend time with God through this eleven-week Bible study, you’ll gain life-shaping insights to help you…

Understand and pursue your purpose as a mother

Live out your true priorities

Entrust your child to God

Bear the fruit of the Spirit in your everyday interactions

Recover from Perfect Mom Syndrome (PMS)

Each week offers four days of study geared specifically to a mother’s concerns, with the Bible passages already printed out for your convenience. The fifth day is a warm-hearted devotional reading to help you reflect on and apply the truths you’ve learned.

As your relationship with God deepens through prayer and studying His Word, you’ll discover how His imprint on your heart can make a lasting impression on your children.

The Gospel is not a well-crafted sermon. It is a life well lived. It is you. Drawn from the book Be the Message, this thirty-day devotional will help you cultivate your life message and live it out.

Over the course of a life-changing month, you will learn how the messes in your life can become a door of hope, discover new ways to love those in front of you, and find out how God is calling you to take a stand in the world.

Using Scripture, illustrations, and practical action steps, the Be the Message Devotional can bring you to a deeper understanding of how your life can make a difference and be the gospel to the world.

Validus is the last and least of God’s angels, but he’s seen much across the millennia since his creation. Empires have risen and fallen as angelic and demonic forces battle in a raging war that will determine humanity’s fate – and the fate of his defeated brothers.

Eventually called to be an earth-bound warrior, Validus rises to a position of power and respect, commanding legions of angels through impossible battles and overwhelming odds. But when orders arrive from the Creator’s most elite Messenger, he finds himself suddenly demoted to a task of apparent insignificance considering the fierce war they are waging against the demonic Fallen – the covert protection of one unbelieving man…just one.

Validus races against time to discover why Drew is so important to humanity’s survival. Can Validus stand between Drew and all who would destroy him?